SkyRC Toro 120A incorrectly going to voltage cut off

[ste_lazzaro]

Right, ok, I had a few attempts with SkyRC customer support chat and can confirm it's pretty awful.. exactly as described in one of the previous posts.

I actually asked them a very simple question: what does the triple beep error message mean?

I know that the battery cutoff is a double beep, but no idea about the triple. To be fair they should include this info in the manual..

Anyway I re-updated the firmware and set the cutoff to manual (6.4V).
Let's see it happens again....

[K-Brewer]

has anyone tried turning the lipo cut off off, i know there were issues like this with the speed passion ESC's. If your racing for 5 mins a time and not bashing there isnt really any chance of it dropping to a dangerous level

[ste_lazzaro]

I thought about it, and could give it a go.
Still I can't help but noticing that the triple beep is not the lipo cut off warning....

[neallewis]

Originally Posted by ste_lazzaro

I thought about it, and could give it a go.
Still I can't help but noticing that the triple beep is not the lipo cut off warning....

isn't that no control signals from receiver? I'll have to check.

Try re-flashing the firmware if is does strange things. I've had this on a friends, re-flashed it (and their program box), and it worked fine afterwards.

[ste_lazzaro]

Originally Posted by neallewis

Try re-flashing the firmware if is does strange things. I've had this on a friends, re-flashed it (and their program box), and it worked fine afterwards.

Yes I've done it.. first real check next club race on friday...
Will let you know!

[cjm_2008]

Well after 30 minutes of pissing about on the web and the SkyRC website (which is crap) trying to find the skylink software, I eventually found a thread on RCTech that mentioned 'g force link' software for the SkyRc ESC.

I had to dust off my last and only windows laptop that had sat unused for 7 years to install the software, but it worked like a charm - instantly recognising my ESC was plugged in (I already had the USB link module) and recognising that new firmware was available.

After the install I tried several power on-off cycles & it would appear that the calibration was retained. I'll be trying it in anger on Sunday, so fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I've ordered the wifi module so I can do this from my phone. I also found the program box which can do quite a lot of stuff I had no idea about!

[ste_lazzaro]

Interesting..
Could you please post a link?
What software is this? If I remember correctly the latest skyrc software is 2.07 for the speedo and 2.06 for the programming box.
Cheers

[cjm_2008]

Originally Posted by ste_lazzaro

Interesting..
Could you please post a link?
What software is this? If I remember correctly the latest skyrc software is 2.07 for the speedo and 2.06 for the programming box.
Cheers

http://www.gforce-hobby.jp/download-...are/index.html

It remains to be seen if it's the correct software, but it looked like it was communicating with my ESC & recognised that it was plugged in straight away - going straight to the FW update.

And the supporting documentation mentions the TS120 / TS120 aluminium & TS160 explicitly

[neallewis]

Originally Posted by cjm_2008

http://www.gforce-hobby.jp/download-...are/index.html

It remains to be seen if it's the correct software, but it looked like it was communicating with my ESC & recognised that it was plugged in straight away - going straight to the FW update.

And the supporting documentation mentions the TS120 / TS120 aluminium & TS160 explicitly

They are the same unit as skyrc TS120. rc concept and corrally also.

[cjm_2008]

Originally Posted by ste_lazzaro

Interesting..
Could you please post a link?
What software is this? If I remember correctly the latest skyrc software is 2.07 for the speedo and 2.06 for the programming box.
Cheers

2.07 is what I have on the ESC according to the software

[ste_lazzaro]

Yep, same esc, same software..

[jimmypurplehaze]

I thought I'd provide an update since I started this thread.

Since I initially raised the issue, it seems to have happened very few times. It's a real freak occurrence, but very annoying when it does happen. The Sky RC helpdesk had said the bleep code indicates a problem with the motor sensor reading. Therefore either a problem with the motor, the sensor lead or the ESC. But I think the fact that there's a few of us out there experiencing this probably points more to a problem with the ESC. I would guess a firmware bug which is exposed by a combination of factors (if only we knew what).

I have to say I haven't tried updating the firmware as I only have the WiFi module (not the program card or SkyLink cable) and don't think you can use it to update the firmware. I think I am on 2.02, so definitely quite an old version. I'd be interested to know whether this works for anyone else.

Incidentally, I have a friend with the Corally 160A who has seen the same intermittent issue. But I actually have the same model of ESC in one of my other cars and it's faultless.

I'm sorry to say that none of this really helps. But I do think if we keep getting the problem we should all apply some pressure to Sky RC to look into it in more depth.

[dazp83]

Been having the same issues with my skyrc esc, just reflashed it so see if it stops playing up.

[ste_lazzaro]

Re-flashed and raced on friday: no issues whatsoever.
...but we know it's an intermittent thing...
In the meantime I didn't get any email replies from skyrc, after giving up with the chat service..

[Jimbogti]

Mine was doing exactly the same thing mate, twice it's happened, ok for 4 mins then die, turned on then died or just not working full stop,
Did the bury meeting last time out with it and the thing set on fire.......

[cjm_2008]

I raced my YZ-2 yesterday indoors on high grip carpet. Ended up going to a 6.5 as I was losing out on the straights (started with a 7.5).

20 minutes of practice, 4 heats and a final. The speedo didn't miss a beat.

My only slight criticism is a lack of progressive feel, but I think that's down to the aggressive timing / turbo settings I was running without really knowing what I was doing. I could have also done with more brakes, but again, that's a setup thing. Overall I'm pretty impressed. Let's see how long it lasts!

[jimmypurplehaze]

I've finally re-flashed my ESC to firmware version 2.07, which I guess is the latest. I had to get the SkyLink device to do it as I've only ever had the WiFi connector and I don't think that lets you do anything with the firmware.

I'm hoping that does the job or it's going in the bin! The last meeting it played up just about every race. Always about half a lap after starting the race. Turning off and back on again always fixed it and then it was fine for the rest of the race. So odd!

I'll let you know how I get on with the new firmware.

[bretts]

been running 2.07 for ages no probs with 6.5 in 4wd and 13.5 in tc. hope it fixes it.

[Journeyman Racer]

I had the exact same problem (half a lap into race esc cutting out). Updated it with GForce software and the problem has never returned. Esc still works with the original program box (actually a RC Concept one) and all of the same settings modes are present.

[jimmypurplehaze]

Having updated the firmware to V2.07, I thought I'd cracked the problem. I had one race meeting without issues. But then at the next race meeting the problem returned. I have one more thing to try which is to disable thermal protection. When I contacted SkyRC last year, they said the bleep code I get means the ESC has gone into thermal protection (obviously incorrectly as it's always cold when the problem occurs). So I'm thinking if I disable thermal protection, perhaps the issue won't reoccur. We'll see!